We Make a Good Team
by Magical Who
Summary: Katie's quidditch team is in dire need of a keeper--who better to fill in that Oliver Wood?
1. Future What!

Disclaimer: All of these lovely characters belong to JK Rowling.

Ever since Katie Bell had been a little girl hearing about how her older brother had succeeded in playing Quidditch for the Ravenclaw house team, she had hoped to play herself; she never thought she would have the talent to take her to the professional leagues. Upon graduation from Hogwarts, Katie had been contacted by several teams all offering her gazillions of galleons to play for them. Of all the offers she had received, Katie chose to play for the Salisbury Sphinxs—a team that she had favored growing up. In the five years since Katie had graduated from Hogwarts she had had arguably the most successful Quidditch career since her captain and teammate at Hogwarts, Oliver Wood. Oliver Wood had lead Puddlemere United to four national championships and had recorded more shut outs than any keeper in the history of Quidditch. Neither Katie nor any of her teammates had heard from Wood since graduation, but Katie had read in the wizarding gossip magazine, _Witches_, that Wood had retired from the Quidditch scene so that he could fully enjoy the spoils of his success. It was rumored that Wood spent his time romancing the wizarding world's most beautiful witches, travelling the globe, and buying expensive broom sticks. Katie only knew about all these articles about Wood because Fred and George had bought her a subscription to the magazine. "It's good to know what people are saying about you," Fred had told her when they had bought her the first subscription a few Christmases ago. Katie of course appeared in the magazine at least once a month because not only was she a very famous Quidditch player herself, but her boyfriend, Eric Ives, was a very famous Wiz TV star. Eric had starred in countless movies in addition to his long running show _Pompfrey's Anatomy_, a dramatic series about Healers working at Saint Mungo's Hospital. On a monthly basis the magazine reported that Katie and Eric had broken up for any number of reasons, Katie's favorite being that she was jealous of his fame and couldn't stand to live in his shadow, which Katie thought was absolutely ridiculous. The only thing she ever paid attention to in the gossip magazine were the mentions of Oliver Wood…

"Good morning, beautiful," said Eric, kissing Katie on the head.

"No morning is a good morning," said Katie, who hated waking up, smiling up at the perfectly chiseled face of her boyfriend of three years.

"Every morning I wake up to you is a good morning," said Eric. He certainly did have a way with words, Katie thought.

"Are you ready for your game?" Eric asked. He was pretty supportive of her career and came to as many games as his filming schedule would permit.

"Yes, but nervous as well," Katie admitted, as today's game would decide whether or not her team would make it to the playoffs. "You're coming , right?"

"Oh no, not today, my love. I'm sorry. My agent has booked a few publicity events for today with the new season starting next month," said Eric.

"Oh alright," said Katie, she was very nervous about the game and it would have been nice to have him there. Katie rolled out of bed and into the shower, hoping the hot water would calm her nerves.

When Katie emerged from the bathroom with a cloud of steam, she found Eric in the kitchen.

"What's for breakfast?" asked Katie whose nerves had disappeared leaving her very hungry.

"Protein shake," said Eric handing her a glass of brown lumpy looking liquid. Katie made a face. "It's very healthy. We need to stay in shape."

_I'm a professional athlete_, Katie thought, _I should be able to eat something more substantial for breakfast especially before a match_. "Fine, fine," Katie muttered, knowing that she would pick up a bacon and egg sandwich on her way to the match.

"Good girl," said Eric giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Good luck at your match. I'll be home tonight and I want good news."

"Thanks," said Katie as she waved goodbye. She dumped the rest of her shake down the sink and apparated to her favorite breakfast spot. After stuffing down a bacon and egg sandwich, she apparated to the pitch.

"Ughhh," Katie moaned clutching her stomach when she arrived at the stadium. It was never a good idea to apparate so soon after eating, she might regret that during the match. Katie made her way into the locker room, only her coach was present.

"And how does my star chaser feel today?" her coach, Derek "Eagle Eye" Kennedy, asked. Derek had been the best seeker of his generation and had held the record for the fastest snitch capture until a few years ago.

"100%, coach!" said Katie grinning at her coach. Derek was a tough coach, but he really cared about his players.

"That's just what I want to hear. Saw you and Eric on the cover of _Witches_ in the store yesterday."

"Ughh, I just wish they would recognize me on my own, not just as his girlfriend," Katie confessed.

"Don't pay that trashy magazine any mind—it deserves less respect than the _Quibbler_. _Quidditch Illustrated_ recognizes your talent and that's all that should matter to a player," said Derek.

"Thanks coach. I'll score a goal just for you today," said Katie.

"Make it ten, why don't you?" Derek laughed.

The rest of the team arrived and the trainer led them through stretches and focused on some of the other player's injuries. With only a few minutes left before the start of the game, it was time for Crystal Shacklebolt, the team captain and keeper, to give her inspirational speech.

"I know I don't need to remind anyone here how important this game is. This game decides whether or not we become the first team to make the playoffs 50 years in a row. But that's not what I care about. I don't just want to make the playoffs, I want to win. In the past 50 years, we have only won seven titles. No one individual on this team has ever been a champion, but together everyone on this team can become one. If we beat the Holyhead Harpies today, chances are we will face them again in the finals. Today let's make the fear the day they meet us again," said Crystal causing the whole team to cheer. With that being said, the team shouldered their brooms and marched out on the pitch.

The crowd roared as teams were announced, cheering and jeering at all the right places. Katie's nerves and stomachache were no more, as the thrill of game overtook her.

"And now the Salisbury Sphinxs: chasers Abbott, Bell, and Thurston, beaters Straight and Baker, seeker Donlon, and keeper and captain Shacklebolt," the voice of the announcer boomed over the audience. "And now the first whistle…"

Katie was first to gain control of the quaffle, and after a few passes between Travis Abbott, Lexi Thurston, and herself, they were able to score the first goal. Unfortunately for every goal the Sphinx chasers were able to score, the Harpies were able to answer with one. Katie knew this was going to be a game that came down to the seekers. After forty minutes the game was tied and Katie heard a horrible scream. She spun her broom around in time to see Crystal Shacklebolt falling to the ground. Quidditch officials had their wands pointed at Crystal to slow her fall.

"I'll take the posts," Katie shouted to her fellow chasers, as she raced to the other end of the pitch. Oliver had made her player keeper once and a while so that he could watch Alicia and Angelina run plays from the side, so Katie had a little experience. Katie was able to do a reasonably good job as keeper, well at least for a chaser. The Harpies started to pull ahead, but their surged ended in vain as Donlon took a steep dive and rose with the snitch firmly in his hand. When Katie saw that she felt a wave of relief wash over her—she hadn't had time to realize how nervous she had been about playing keeper.

But rather than gather in the air to celebrate, the team waved to their fans as they rushed to the locker room to learn the fate of their captain. Crystal was lying in a cot with fluffy white pillows place in the center of the locker room. She had impressive looking bandages around her head.

"Crystal, what happened? I didn't turn around in time to see," said Katie.

"One of the Harpies mistook my head for a bludger," Crystal said giving them a small smile.

"Will you be okay for the next game?" asked Levi anxiously.

"We seem to have a small problem there," said Coach Derek stepping forward. "Shacklebolt has been benched for the rest of the season. Head wounds are a very serious matter; even the best healers need time to mend the injury completely."

"Benched?" gapped Travis.

"I'm afraid so," said Derek.

"What will we do? We just secured a place in the playoffs," moaned beater Will Straight.

"You will play and you will win, with a new keeper," said Crystal fiercely.

"And where are we going to find a keeper as solid as you?" Katie asked.

"Well that's where Coach and I were hopping you could help out," said Crystal.

Katie gave her a quizzical look.

"Those keeper skills of yours—"

"I am not playing keeper!" Katie interrupted.

"I'm not asking you too. Let me finish—you learned to play keeper like that from the best keeper of our generation," said Crystal.

"Well yeah, I played quidditch at Hogwarts with Oliver Wood, but I don't see how that's going to help. He retired to focus on being a womanizer," said Katie.

"Now Bell, don't talk that way about your future teammate," said Derek.

"Future what?!" shouted Katie.

* * *

A/N--Oliver Wood the womanizer will make his appearance shortly--can't wait! Hope you enjoyed and if you did send a review!!


	2. Veela Charm

"Teammate, Bell."

"And how, pray tell, do think you are going to lure the notorious Oliver Wood out of retirement?" asked Katie sounding skeptical.

"Well that's where we were hoping you would come in," said Derek.

"I haven't spoken to Wood since he left Hogwarts. Don't expect much from me," warned Katie.

"Oh come on Bell, just remind him of all the good times you two had playing together at Hogwarts. And if that doesn't work just turn on the Velia charm," said Crystal grinning.

"Yeah Bell, then you'll end up on the cover of _Witches_ for something other than dating Eric Ives," joked Derek.

"I don't have any Velia charm," Katie muttered.

"Liar," whispered her fellow chaser Lexi, "How else do you think she hooked Eric Ives?"

The team laughed. "Fine, fine," said Katie blushing. "I'll do my best. But don't expect anything."

"Bell, we certainly will expect something," said Beater Billy Baker, "The fate of our team is at stake!"

"Not helping, Baker," said Katie.

"Bell," said Crystal from her hospital bed, "The team needs you to do this."

"Oh how can I saw no to someone in a hospital bed with a crack in her head?" said Katie, knowing that she had been played, "Where can I find the elusive Mr. Wood?"

"London," said Derek handing her an envelope, "Here's his address and an offer letter for him to sign. The sooner you sign him the better, but we have three days till the first match and I think our chances of winning would double if we had a keeper."

"Alright, alright, here goes nothing," said Katie, preparing to apparate.

"WAIT," said Lexi grabbing her arm, "You can't call on a notorious womanizer smelling like Hippogriff dung."

"I appreciate your honesty, Lexi," Katie grumbled, as she headed to the showers. When she emerged she saw that the locker room had been transformed into a salon. There were witches waiting to do her makeup, hair and nails as well as racks of clothes for her to pick from.

"So this is where all of the team profits go?" asked Katie as she sat down in the chair to be transformed.

When everything was finished Katie looked at herself in the mirror. Her blonde hair had been set so that it fell in big beautiful curls and her face looked quite natural with mascara, light foundation, and a pale pink lipstick. She was dressed in a pair of dark flattering jeans and tight, low cut bright blue sweater. She thought that she looked quite good, but nowhere near as good as the girls she saw Oliver with in _Witches_.

"Go get 'em, Bell," said Crystal giving her the thumbs up as Katie finally apparated to Oliver's flat.

Katie found herself outside a beautifully modern apartment building in the heart of London, she approached the doorman.

"Hi," she said, "I'm here to see Oliver Wood."

"Yeah you and every other eligible woman in London," snorted the doorman.

"I'm an old friend," said Katie.

"He didn't say he was expecting anyone," said the doorman looking confused.

"Well he must have forgotten—you know he's got a lot of his mind," said Katie capitalizing on the doorman's confusion.

"Yeah, yeah, go on up. Top floor," said the doorman standing aside.

"Thank you," said Katie, not knowing or caring what she had said to get inside Oliver's building. She got in the elevator and pressed the button for what else, but the penthouse suite. The elevator door dinged as it opened, revealing an expensive, exquisitely decorated apartment.

"Who's there?" said a deep, Scottish brogue that Katie recognized immediately; he had screamed at her a lot during school.

"Oliver, it's me," said Katie moving toward his voice.

"Well that helps a lot, as I wasn't expecting anyone," said Oliver, his voice coming nearer.

_Wow_, Katie thought continuing to move closer to the source of the noise, _wonder if the attitude came with the place or if that was extra?_

"Oh, it's you," said Oliver starring at her in surprise.

"I told you it was me," said Katie grinning.

"Katie Bell! How the hell are you?" said Oliver giving her a hug, "I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts in years! Wait how did you get in here?"

"That's a good question. One minute your doorman was trying to brush me off and the next he was welcoming me in with open arms. It's like I said some magic words or something."

"If you said, 'I'm an old friend' then you did break a code. It's what my—er—'special' friends say when they call," said Oliver sheepishly.

"Ohh, I see," said Katie. There was an awkward silence, "Err nice place you've got here."

"Yeah, isn't it fantastic?" Oliver asked, "It was the first thing I bought with my earnings. I'm sad to say my tastes haven't been as good since then…"

"Yeah, I've heard…" Katie mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I've seen you all over _Witches_," Katie confessed, "Most people have an inkling what you do with your time and money."

"Ah yes. Well I'm proud to say it's not all true. I've seen you there too, Bell. Dating a famous actor?" said Oliver.

"And playing damn good quidditch," said Katie indignantly. She didn't know where all this anger toward Oliver was coming from—what was it to her if he was sleeping around? She had a very attractive boyfriend herself, "If you even follow that anymore."

Oliver gave her a bemused look, "I'm sorry Katie. And I have read about how well you've been playing for the Sphinxes."

"Have you heard about our game today? That's kind of why I'm here," asked Katie.

"I did. It's a shame. Shacklebolt was the best keeper I ever faced. How are you going to manage playoffs without her?" said Oliver.

"Well…Shacklebolt and Coach Eagle Eye have this crazy idea that you will come out retirement and play with us for the rest of the season. I told them it was ridiculous, but they wanted me to ask anyway," said Katie, "So if you could just say no right now, we can find a more reasonable solution."

"Now what is so unreasonable about that?" said Oliver.

Katie merely gapped at him—was he really going to do it? "But you're retired…"

"I retired too damn early. There is still a lot of good quidditch left in your old captain. And who better for me to make my triumvirate return with than my favorite chaser? We make a good team," said Oliver.

Katie just looked at him.

"Merlin, Bell, you look like I've just explained the most complicated play in the world to you."

"But you're retired…"

"So you've said," said Oliver laughing, "Why is the fact that I want to play again so ridiculous?"

"If you still want to play, why did you stop?"

"Katie I got caught up in all glamour and glitz of Quidditch fame," Oliver confessed, not meeting her eyes, "I don't have my feet as firmly planted on the ground as you do, my feet have always hovered a few inches above the ground. I've been wanting to get back into it, but the timing hasn't been right; so I've been travelling, seeing the world like I always wanted to."

"Well that's a noble explanation for what the tabloids have been saying…"

"I'm afraid I don't have a noble explanation for anything else they say. But I think if I had quidditch in my life again, it might be enough for me to stop being so…social."

"Well, this was far easier than I could have hoped," said Katie beaming, "We definitely have a shot at the championship now."

"More than a shot. With me at the posts, I'd say were the favorite."

"A little sure of yourself aren't we. Not worried you'll be rusty?"

"Don't you worry about that Bell," said Oliver smirking, "Now is there paperwork for me to do?"

"Oh yes," said Katie handing over the envelope. Oliver signed in all the necessary places.

"Great! See you tomorrow—practice starts at 9 am."

"Alright," said Oliver as they walked toward the elevator door, "It was great seeing you again, Bell."

"Yeah, just like old times," said Katie. _Well not exactly like old times_, thought Katie, _because I used to have a massive crush on Oliver, but I definitely don't have one anymore!_

"You should come over for dinner some time."

"Now that I know the code to get in?"

"Well, Katie, I wouldn't use that method to get up here unless you are prepared to follow through on the responsibilities that come with that job."

"Mr. Wood I think you forget that I am not on the market right now."

"Ms. Bell I think you forget that when you are an international quidditch star, everyone is on the market," Oliver said flashing the same trademark smirk from their days at Hogwarts.

Katie returned his smirk with one of her own as the doors to the elevator closed. Katie apparated back to the locker room, hoping to share the good news with her coach.

"Bell, back so soon? I wouldn't have you pegged as a quitter," said Derek.

"I'm not a quitter," said Katie as she waved the signed papers in front of her coach's face.

"Bell, well done!" said Derek, who was practically jumping up and down with joy. He quickly sent messages to the rest of the team. "So the old velia charm worked?"

"Something like that. Let's just say that he deserves his reputation," said Katie.

"Am I going to see you on this week's cover of _Witches_?"

"No need to worry, coach," said Katie.

"That's what I like to hear Bell. I shall see you tomorrow," said Derek.

* * *

A/N: Oh that Oliver Wood!! Love him!! Please review!


	3. Team Bonding

Katie apparted home to her apartment and opened the door. "Hello? Eric?" she called, but was only greeted by silence. She made her way into the kitchen and began to cook dinner—at least if she was in charge of the cooking she wouldn't get some crazy all soy and tofu meal that Eric usually made. She had just put the lasagna (her favorite meal) in the oven when Eric returned.

"Hey honey," said Eric when he found her in the kitchen.

"Hi! How was your day?"

Eric shrugged, "Not bad—as good as doing publicity events can be. How was your match?"

Katie launched into an explanation of her day, telling him everything about the match and her visit to Oliver's.

"Woah, you got Oliver Wood to give up his womanizing ways and return to quidditch? How in the name of Merlin did you manage that?"

"It wasn't that hard actually. He said he wanted to get back into the game; I provided him with the perfect opportunity."

"Promise me you won't fall under his charm!"

"Eric, I've know Wood since I was eleven years old, I'm resistant to his wily ways. And your timing is perfect; the lasagna is ready," said Katie pulling it out of the oven.

Eric eyed the dish suspiciously, "Are those whole wheat noodles?"

"Err…no…" said Katie.

"Well Katie, it looks great, but you know I can't eat food like that. I'm going to go out and get something to eat," said Eric grabbing his coat on the way out the door.

Katie's mother had always taught her that it was the ultimate insult to refuse to eat food someone else had made for you. And Katie was greatly offended by Eric's refusal. She sat down at the kitchen table by herself quite angry. After she finished eating, she had the dishes start washing themselves and sat down to watch some television. She flicked through the channels; one station was showing reruns of Pompfrey's Anatomy, which she had no desire to watch. She automatically skipped over E!, but turned back to the station because something had caught her eye. Apparently news had broken that Oliver Wood was returning to quidditch. She watched that for a few moments before finally settling on one of her favorite muggle movies, The Wizard of Oz; Katie found muggle's depiction of magic quite amusing. Several hours later Eric returned home.

"What took you so long? Did you have a 15 course meal?" Katie asked, not taking her eyes off the television.

"I went for a walk afterword," said Eric sitting down next to her on the couch, "Katie, I'm really sorry about dinner. Eating a fantastic meal like that once and a while would probably do me some good."

"It probably would," said Katie tersely.

"I'm sorry Katie. Please forgive me," said Eric giving her puppy dog eyes.

"Yes fine I forgive you," said Katie getting up off the couch, "I have to go to bed. I have practice early tomorrow."

"Goodnight, dear," said Eric leaning over to give her a kiss. Katie allowed him to kiss her, but she did not kiss back. She went upstairs to the bedroom and got into bed.

The next morning Katie slipped out of bed quietly, as Eric was still sleeping. She showered and went to the kitchen to make herself breakfast. Then she apparated to the stadium for practice. She and Lexi had arrived outside the pitch at the same time.

"Morning, Lexi!" Katie called.

"Good morning, Katie. I can't believe you convinced Wood to come out of retirement!"

"Isn't it great? He's the only one whose skills match Crystal's. With him we actually have a chance to win this!" said Katie

"I just hope he can keep that famous ego in check," said Lexi.

"You and me both," said Katie as she opened the door to the locker room.

They opened the door to reveal the rest of the quidditch team seated around a magical chalkboard—everything seemed to be in place for the start of practice except Oliver.

"It's five minutes of 9, Bell. Where's your boy?" asked Coach Derek.

"He's not my boy," said Katie, "And I told him practice starts at 9. He was probably preemptively celebrating his return to Quidditch with some cheap hooker."

"I can assure you she was not cheap," said a voice behind Katie. She whirled around to see Oliver entering the door. Katie blushed causing the entire team to laugh.

"Welcome, Mr. Wood!" said Derek, "Words can not express how grateful we are you have signed on last minute. You're really helping us out of a terrible bind."

"It is my pleasure, Coach," said Oliver nodding to his new teammates and winking at Katie, before taking his seat.

"Brace yourself for a crash course in Sphinx plays—you've got a lot to learn in very little time," said Derek.

The next two hours went smoothly as Derek explained the team's specialty plays with Oliver asking questions and giving his input on the plays. Katie was surprised at how well Oliver was behaving; his rumored ego was nowhere in sight. And when they took to the air after Oliver had absorbed all of their plays, Katie couldn't help but feel like she and Oliver were teenagers again, practicing for the Gryffindor match against Slytherin. Oliver still had the same natural leadership ability that made him such a great keeper and although he was new to the team, he seemed to immediately have their respect. The only thing that changed was that Oliver seemed to be less maniacal—no longer screaming at the other players, but rather giving constructive criticism and frequent praise. By the time practice was over, it felt like Oliver had playing with the team the how season; Oliver was already joking around with beaters Billy and Will.

"I'm pleased to say that retirement has not tarnished your skills at all, Wood," said Derek when they were back in the locker room, "You really seemed to fit in well with the team. I'm glad that you let Bell convince you to play again."

"It would take a stronger man than I to resist Miss Katie Bell," said Oliver poking Katie in the ribs.

"Are you ever going to grow up?" asked Katie pretending to be annoyed because she was secretly pleased Oliver had essentially called her irresistible.

"Now, now I can't have any fighting between my players," laughed Derek.

"Not to worry coach. Bell and I will work out our differences on our own time," said Oliver smirking at Katie. Katie rolled her eyes and brushed past Oliver as she headed to the showers; although she couldn't help but notice how solid Oliver was when she bumped into him. Fifteen minutes later, Katie emerged from the shower and stowed her belongings in her locker.

"Ready for some team bonding?" said Oliver causally leaning against the lockers.

"No thank you. I have important things to do," said Katie vaguely.

"Of course you do—like going to get lunch with me," said Oliver, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the locker room (he was a lot stronger than her!). Before Katie could protest she felt herself being pulled along in side-along apperation. When her lunged where again filled with air, she saw that they stood outside a quaint pancake house.

"This is where I used to come every day after practice. They used to know my order by heart—let's see if they still can get it right," said Oliver, again pulling her up the stairs of the restaurant.

"You really are sure of yourself, aren't you?" asked Katie.

"I am," said Oliver smirking, "What makes you say that?"

"You just assume that every woman wants to be with you—you didn't even wait for me to agree to a lunch date!"

"So this is a date, eh?"

"ARGH!" said Katie in frustration. "Let's order so that we can get some food and I won't have to listen to you talk!"

"Then you'll get to hear me chew—my mother says I have terrible table manners."

"I think I would rather hear that!"

"I'm hurt, Bell," said Oliver opening his menu. The waitress came over and took their orders. The waitress who was new and young and very flirty did not know Oliver's usual order but promised she would remember next time. Minutes later two large stacks of pancakes arrived at their table.

"Food never tastes than after a long quidditch practice," said Oliver after finishing an entire pancake in one minute flat.

"Tell me about it," said Katie, "Eric totally does not understand that. He never enjoys his food."

"This is good, but nothing can top Saturday brunch at Hogwarts after practice. Mmm…a heaping plate of sausage and eggs," said Oliver closing his eyes.

"Or all the butterbeer and cauldron cakes that Fred and George used to sneak in for our post game celebrations?"

"When we win the next game, we have to celebrate just like we did in school," said Oliver.

"Definitely. The team usually goes to a club afterward, but we can pregame with some butterbeer and candy," said Katie.

"It's a date," said Oliver smirking.

"You're right it will be a date because Eric will be there and I'm sure you'll pick up someone…" said Katie.

Katie and Oliver finished their pancakes and bickered (or flirted—whichever you'd like to call it!). They took the check and Oliver insisted on paying.

"You can pay tomorrow," he told her. "I need to make sure that waitress remembers my order."

Katie snorted, "Should I write your number on the check for her?"

"Please, Bell, I'm not that easy," said Oliver as they walked out of the restaurant and into an alleyway so that they could apperate to their homes.

"See you tomorrow," said Katie, "And try not to be late because for some reason your behavior reflects on me."

"Well I wouldn't want us to look bad," said Oliver. Katie caught the beginning of his smirk as she apparated back to her home.


	4. Ohmygosh

Chapter 4

The next two days before the quidditch quarter final passed much as the previous one had; Oliver's play improved greatly and his ability to fit in with the team was astounding, Oliver continued to wink at and flirt with Katie, and Katie pretended not to enjoy it. The waitress did, of course, remember Oliver's order at the pancake house, which greatly annoyed Katie.

The Quiddtich game was scheduled for 10 in the morning, so that morning Katie woke up at 7 and headed straight for the shower. Katie was surprised that her usually pregame nerves were nowhere in sight; she didn't even feel like she was going to throw up her breakfast. Before she felt, she noticed a note taped to the fridge.

_Hey Katie Baby,_

_I hate to do this, but with the new season about to air, I have more PR stuff to take care of. I really wish I could be at your game—I know you'll do great. I'll see you at Alchemy tonight, although I might be a bit late._

_Love, Eric_

Funny, Katie thought, I don't remember Quidditch finals conflicting with pre-season promoting last year.

But for some unknown reason, this news didn't seem to bother Katie as much as it should have either. Katie shrugged her shoulders and apparated to the Quidditch pitch. As Katie appeared outside the stadium, she landed on something uneven and the tumbled into what she thought was wall.

"Bell, are you trying to take out another keeper?" said Oliver from underneath Katie.

Katie groaned. "What are you doing underneath me?"

"I know—it's ridiculous. I should be on top," said Oliver, pushing Katie to her feet and then standing up himself.

"You should both be in the locker room mentally preparing for the game," said Crystal Shacklebolt, who had just appeared behind them.

"Was Bell this difficult with you, Shacklebolt? She was a handful back in school, but I thought with time she might become less difficult," said Oliver.

"Oh she's easy…to coach," winked Shacklebolt, causing Katie to snort loudly. "And extremely well mannered and lady like too!"

"Quite the charmer," added Wood. "I'm told some liken her to a Veela!"

"Remind me again why I bother having friends?" asked Katie as she led the way into the locker room.

In the past the Chudley Cannons were not a team one worried about beating, but this year the Cannons were having a Cinderella season. They had been beating big teams like the Kenmare Kestrels and Puddlemere United handily. Given their momentum, the Cannons were even favored to win today's match, but Katie still had faith because no one was aware of how well Oliver had settled in with the team. The critics were expecting a disorganized team with no chemistry considering that the keeper was the playmaker of the team. Luckily for the Sphinxes, they were the opposite of what the critics expected.

Shacklebolt stood up, head still bandaged, to address her team. "Being considered the underdog in a match against the Cannons is a position I'd never thought we'd be in, but here we are. We've had three days to adjust to having a brand new keeper and when we win today's match everyone will see what I've seen all season—that we the team to beat this year and that nothing is going to stand in our way!"

"Here, here," said Oliver.

"Here, here," chorused the rest of the team.

"Now get out there and kick some ass!" said Coach Eagle Eye.

As they mounted their brooms, Katie looked over at Oliver and he winked back at her. _Just like old times_, thought Katie. The crowd roared as they flew out onto the pitch and the announcer called out names of the players, but Katie didn't really hear anything. She was too focused on how good Oliver looked between the goal posts in the Sphinxes dark green and gold uniforms. Oliver noticed Katie gazing at him, so he smirked and pointed in the direction of the referees, who were getting ready to start the game. Katie blushed and spun around on her broom quickly. _Maybe it's a good thing Eric isn't here_, thought Katie.

With Oliver at the posts calling the plays, the chasers were flying through the air, easily dodging the Cannon's players. The Cannon's keeper was quite good, but he was not able block all the shots the Sphinxes were firing at him. The Sphinx beaters were playing superbly and between their great play and Oliver's legendary skill between the posts, the Cannons were having a hard time keeping up with Sphinxes' chasers. After 45 minutes, the Sphinxes were up 100 to 40 and within the next 15 minutes Katie saw Donlon shooting up between the Cannon's goal posts. He turned back toward the center of the pitch with his fist raised in triumph. Katie felt her spirits soar, with the Cannons out of the way their biggest challenge in their quest for the championship was over.

The chasers gathered in the center of the pitch in a big hug. Donlon flew in from the other end of the pitch with the beaters not far behind him. A few moments later, Katie felt a pair of well muscled arms encircle her waist as Oliver flew up behind her and joined the team.

"And you thought I was rusty," Oliver whispered in her ear. His voice was so close to her ear, that Katie felt her stomach do a back flip.

"You were," teased Katie, turning a little to face him. "The Oliver I knew at Hogwarts would have saved that third goal."

"And the Bell I knew at Hogwarts, would have converted the first time we ran the Hail Mary play," said Oliver, his voice still too close for Katie's liking (or perhaps comfort, because she definitely was enjoying his breathe tickling her ear).

The team made its way to the ground and back into the locker room where their celebration was joined by Crystal Shacklebolt and Coach Eagle Eye.

"Wood!" Eagle Eye boomed, "That was spectacular!"

"I couldn't have done any better myself," said Shacklebolt, patting Oliver on the back.

"Tonight, we celebrate. We can worry about facing the Falmouth Falcons in the semi-finals tomorrow!" said Coach Eagle Eye.

"We have a table reserved at the club Alchemy as always," announced chaser Lexi Thruston. "See you all there at 10," she added as she left the lockerroom.

"And I'm seeing you before that, right?" asked Oliver leaning causally against the locker next to Katie's.

"What are you talking about?" asked Katie raising her eyebrows at him.

"You promised me we could pre-game with butterbeer and chocolate frogs," said Oliver pouting at her.

Katie rolled her eyes at him and continued to put her gear away in her locker.

"I'm serious," Oliver said. "You promised."

"Fineeeeeeeee," said Katie. "See you at your place at 8?"

"Great. So I'll get butterbeers for three?"

"No just two. Eric told me he'd be late to the club, so I doubt he'd make it to your place," explained Katie.

"Great, you don't want to be hanging out with any extremely good looking guys," said Oliver grinning.

"Nope," said Katie. "I'm so thankful there won't be any of those at your place."

Katie found herself smiling again—she seemed to be smiling a lot more now that she had Oliver back in her life. She closed her locker and found Oliver looking down at her smiling.

"Well—I—errr better be going," said Oliver, appearing flustered for the first time Katie had ever seen.

"Yep, me too," said Katie as she walked out of the locker room and waved to Oliver as she apparated back to her home.

Katie walked into her empty flat and quickly grabbed two pieces of paper, addressing one to Angelina and one to Alicia, and wrote:

_S.O.S. Going to a club with Oliver tonight. No idea what to wear._

She quickly tied the messages to foot of her owl, Artemis, and sent her out the window. Katie paced around her living room wondering why she was suddenly feeling like she was a teenager again and why all these old feelings for Oliver were coming back, especially since she was supposed to be in love with Eric. Katie's thoughts were interrupted by two loud pops, as her two best friends appeared in her living room.

"Why are we stressing over Oliver when we are dating the hottest wizard on network television?" asked Alicia.

"Because we've always had a crush on him, but been too scared to tell him," said Angelina, hugging Katie.

"You veelas are in love with Eric too?" said Katie, hugging Alicia. "And I wish I could explain to you why I'm feeling this way. He's just so charming…"

"Oh we are all too familiar with Oliver's charm. You're the only one of us that it's ever worked on," said Alicia.

"It's good that you called us here. We've always been much more put together than you," said Angelina squeezing Katie's shoulders and leading her up to the bedroom. "Let's see what we have to work with…"

Alicia and Angelina raided Katie's closet for quite some time until they found something they liked: a sky blue one shouldered dress that Katie had always felt was too tight, but her friends insisted it fit perfectly and made her look hot. Once Katie was dressed, Alicia sat her down at the vanity and pulled out her wand.

"Now for your hair," she said distractedly. She pulled Katie's straight blonde hair into a high ponytail with a small bump in the front. She heavily applied mascara and smoky eye shadow. "You have such great eyes Katie," Alicia murmured as she applied the finishing touch of some light lipstick.

"You are such a knockout," said Angelina.

"Oliver is going to die on the spot," said Alicia.

Katie tugged at the hem of her dress, which suddenly seemed too short. "Are you sure I look okay?" she asked touching her hair self consciously.

"You look amazing!" her friends said in unison.

"Okay if you say so. I'm going to his place at 8 and then we are heading over to the club at 10."

"Ohmygosh Katie, you did not mention that you were meeting up with him beforehand! Ohmygosh he's totally into you," said Alicia.

"Katie that is major. We expect a full report tomorrow!"

"I'm sure there will be nothing to report," Katie muttered.

"If we did our job right, there will be," said Angelina. With that they all apparated out of her apartment.


	5. Alchemy

Katie didn't have to utter any special passwords this time when she arrived at Oliver's apartment complex. The doorman ushered her directly into elevator. The ride to the top floor seemed to take ages. And Katie was not enjoying the ride in the mirrored elevator as it allowed her to see just how short her dress was from all angles. Finally the door dinged and opened into Oliver's penthouse.

"Oliver? Hey," Katie called tentatively into the vast apartment.

"Bell! Make yourself at home. I'll be right out," Oliver called from the depths of the penthouse.

Katie wandered into the kitchen and found a spread that would put the food trolley on the Hogwarts Express to shame. The table was loaded with Butterbeers, chocolate covered frogs, cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, and every other treat Katie could imagine.

"I hope you brought your appetite!" said Oliver emerging through a door into the kitchen and came to stand near her. He was looking very good in a pair of dark, tight (but not too tight) fitting jeans and emerald green graphic tee that proclaimed, "I'm a keeper", which Katie couldn't help but laugh at.

"What's so funny Bell? You don't like my shirt?"

"Where on earth did you find that?"

"One of my fans sent it to me. Do you really think I'm self-centered enough to buy this for myself?"

"No comment," said Katie unable to hide her smile.

"That smile gives you away, Bell. Always has," said Oliver, reaching out to touch her cheek. Katie found herself closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation of his warm hand against her face and forgetting completely that she was supposedly happily in a relationship. After several seconds, Oliver cleared his throat and stepped away from Katie. "So can I get you a butterbeer?"

"Ummm….yeah," said Katie finding her words after a brief hesitation. She accepted the butterbeer from Oliver and began to take rather large sips.

"So what should I expect at the club tonight?" asked Oliver.

Katie raised her eyebrows. "Well Mr. Wood, Alchemy is a nightclub, which is an establishment that I'm sure you are especially familiar with. And we will be in the VIP room, but I assume you are no stranger to those either. What else could you possibly need to know?"

"What else could I need to know? I need to know who on the team dances like a boggart in pain, who downs shots of fire whisky as easily as I block shots, and who is likely to get drunk, forget that she has a boyfriend, and hook up with me…"

Katie stared at Wood for several seconds before she answered. He was certainly being bold. International Quidditch stars must not be used to having things out of reach. "Well Baker has been known to tear up dance floor, Shacklebolt would normally drink like a fish, but that might be going against doctor's orders, and none of the other girls on the team have boyfriends that they will need to forget about before hooking up with you."

Wood drained his butterbeer before saying, "I wasn't asking about the other girls, Bell."

Katie blushed. "I'm sorry Oliver, but they will be the only ones on the team you have a chance with at the present time."

"At the present time?"

"Well you know what I mean," stammered Katie. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Yes I suppose we should. By the way, you look amazing in that dress. Eric is a lucky man."

"Thanks," Katie muttered before she closed her eyes and pictured the alley where Alchemy stood.

* * *

The line to get into the door of Alchemy was already quite long. Word had gotten out that it was the night club of choice to for the Sphinxes to celebrate a win and now that Oliver Wood had joined the team, the appeal of partying with the Sphinxes was only heightened.

"I do love being a VIP," said Oliver as he grabbed Katie's hand and pulled her past the line and straight to the door. As soon as the crowd realized who they were, people started shouting and flashbulbs began to go off. Katie tried to discretely free her hand from Oliver's, but she wasn't quite fast enough. She now knew she would have to buy every copy of Witches within 5 mile radius of her flat so that she wouldn't have to face any questions from Eric.

Wood fist pounded the bouncer as they were admitted to the club and ushered up toward the VIP room. They found the rest of their team already in full celebration mode and there were already several empty bottles on their table.

"Wood! Bell! Finally! Now we can play Shots for Shots! Or you can play…and I can watch," shouted Shacklebolt, who was still recovering from her head wound.

"I like the sound of that," said Oliver grinning. "What are the rules?"

"Well you as the keeper have to take one shot for every goal you allowed in. Then the chasers get to assign one person to take a shot for every goal they made," explained Shacklebolt.

"Well that hardly seems fair," said Wood, in mock sadness.

"It's a tough burden to bear," said Shacklebolt patting Oliver on the back. "But somebody has gotta do it!"

The shots were lined up on the table. Fourteen in all; 4 for Oliver and ten to be assigned by the chasers. Oliver downed his four quickly while his teammates cheered him on. Next came Travis Abbott, who had scored 3 goals. He assigned all three of his shots to Lexi Thurston, who as usual protested and complained that everyone on the team always targeted her. Katie laughed to herself because she knew Travis only did it because he had a huge crush on Lexi. Lexi retaliated by assigning her 3 shots to Travis.

"Well this is quite boring," complained Coach Derek. "Spice things up a bit, Bell. Surprise us."

"Hmmm," Katie mused, trailing her fingers along the table where the shots sat. She raised her eyes and met Oliver's deep green ones. Coyly she said, "I think it's only right that these four shots go to Mr. Wood. We've all heard so many rumors about your partying habits; I think we'd like to see them for ourselves."

"Is this your idea of hazing, Bell?" asked an amused Wood. "Don't make me drink alone Kates." He ushered over the waiter and had four more shots of fire whiskey poured.

"Oh ho ho," chuckled Derek. "This is really about to get interesting. We all know how well Bell does with fire whiskey."

Katie ignored the taunts of her teammates and match Oliver shot for shot, showing no signs of weakness. Two more rounds of shots were ordered for the entire team. After the second round was finished, Lexi shouted, "To the dancefloor!"

* * *

Lexi led the way, with Travis on her heels. Crystal Shacklebolt and Coach Derek sat down in the booth, neither really cared for the dancing. Katie looked at Oliver, who shrugged and followed the others to the dance floor. Katie glanced over her shoulder as she followed behind Oliver and she couldn't say for sure, but it looked like Crystal had winked at her.

When Katie finally made her way onto the dance floor, the scene was similar to any other night at Alchemy, but magnified by tenfold. Lexi was flirting with the best looking guys in the club, with Travis forlornly looking on. The rest of the boys were surrounded by a gaggle of fan girls all jockeying to get as close as possible. Now that Oliver Wood was among their ranks, the fan girls seemed even more beautiful than normal, their skirts even shorter and their necklines even lower. For the first time all night Katie found herself wishing Eric was with her so that she could dance with him instead of trying to figure out the strange pangs of jealousy she was feeling as an incredibly beautiful brunette latched onto Oliver's bicep. Katie stood their awkwardly for several moments feeling great empathy for poor Travis before Oliver turned around and noticed her there. He reached out and pulled her next to him.

"Katie, this is Tiffany. She says she's a huge fan of the Sphinxes," said Oliver.

Katie snorted internally. She was certain beyond a doubt that this girl had not even heard of the Sphinxes until 3 days ago. "Wow!" said Katie trying to sound as sincere as possible with 6 shots of fire whiskey in her system. "Thanks for your support. It really means a lot!"

"Sure. I'm sure you guys will be winning all the time now that you have Oliver on your team," Tiffany said stroking Oliver's arm.

Katie was about to point out that the team had been doing quite well before Oliver had joined, but Oliver spoke first. "They were doing quite well before I came along. But it's great that all you Sphinxes fans have been so accepting of me. I was worried you wouldn't embrace anyone other than Shacklebolt."

Katie was about to die from holding in her laughter.

"Oh…uh…yeah," stammered Tiffany.

"Well it was great meeting you," said Oliver. "I hope you can make it to our next game!" He grabbed Katie and pulled her to the other side of the dance floor.

"Somehow I don't think you got the reputation of a womanizer by talking like that," said Katie when they had gotten a good distance away from the fan girl gaggle. She had to get very close to Oliver so he could hear her in this corner. The music was much louder here.

"The sad thing is that I've been ruder to girls and still scored. I definitely earned that reputation in the past, but I really am trying to live up to the reputation of my new team." Katie was too shocked to respond immediately and before she had the chance to think of something to say, Oliver grabbed her waist and said, "It's too loud to talk here anyway. Let's just dance."

Oliver maneuvered behind Katie and pulled her up against him. They began to move together along with the beat of the music. Katie would have felt uncomfortable if not for the 6 shots of fire whiskey coursing through her bloodstream. Instead she was noticing how nicely muscular Oliver's body was and how nice it felt against her. She lost track of time completely as the danced together. After a while Oliver's hands moved down to hips and then down lower on her legs. Eventually one of his fingertips touched her bare leg just below the hem of her dress. Katie felt like that one small patch of her skin was on fire and it was beginning to spread through her body. She reached on of her hands behind his head and began to run her fingers through his hair. It surprisingly soft. It wouldn't have shocked Katie to find out Oliver used some sort of fancy salon shampoo. Oliver bent his head down and his lips brushed against her collarbone once. And then again. Katie freed herself of his hold and turned around to face him. She looked into his deep green eyes briefly before lowering her eyes to his lips. When their lips finally met, even though she had her eyes closed, the flashbulb from the paparazzi's camera was still bright enough for her to notice. She quickly pulled away from Oliver because they both knew that it meant trouble—that would be a tough picture to explain. She glanced around the dance floor trying to find the source of the light, but she didn't have to look for long because the camera began to snap again and again—capturing the guilty look on her face and the sad look she shot at Oliver before she ran off, disappearing into the dancing crowd.


End file.
